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Too little sleep in the Summer

Free days and bright, warm evenings with a glass of wine. The vacation is an opportunity to rest – but a full-time unemployment schedule and high expectations, can lead to sleep problems rather than sleep recovery.

Light reduces the sleep hormone in the body

Most people feel more alert in the summers because the light reduces the sleep hormone in the body.

“The light thus interferes with resting. But the light also means that you do not have to rest as much. It is common for you to sleep about an hour less in the summer, “says Torbjörn Åkerstedt, professor of behavioral physiology at the institute for stress at Karolinska institutet in Stockholm.

Sleep insufficiency associated with impaired metabolism

A new clinical study from Uppsala University(Sweden) also shows that sleep insufficiency can alter the presence of certain intestinal bacteria, which in previous studies were associated with impaired metabolism.

Changes in the intestinal flora have been linked with conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Such conditions have also been associated with chronic sleep insufficiency, but it has not previously been known whether a lack of rest can affect the intestinal flora.

In the Swedish study from Uppsala University, nine healthy test patients were examined both before and after moderate sleep deprivation for two nights: Compared to before and after two nights with good to great rest. The aim was to investigate whether sleep disturbance changed the intestinal flora of these normal-weighted individuals.

“In our more targeted analyzes we found some changes in the intestinal flora. These are similar to those seen in some other studies, for example, when compared to people suffering from obesity with normal-weight people. ” says Jonathan Cerdernaes, doctor at Uppsala University.

Christian Benedict, Associate Professor and Sewing Expert at Uppsala University adds that after the state of rest insufficiency, they found that participants had a decline of about 20 percent regarding their ability to respond to the hormone insulin.

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas

“However, in our study, this deteriorated insulin sensitivity was not linked to how the intestinal flora looked after rest deprivation. This suggests that changes in the intestinal flora need not, at least in the short run, be a mechanism that contributes to how one or more nights of shortened rest can impair the sensitivity of insulin to humans, “says Christian Benedict.

In summary, the results showed that resting has a significant role for good well-being. But more studies are needed to investigate how sleep deprivation affects the changes and diversity of intestinal flora.